Virtual team building activities to build staff culture

By Holly Tate, Op-Ed Contributor Thursday, April 30, 2020

Building an encouraging culture remotely as our teams are decentralized from the normal work environment during COVID-19 is imperative. Today, I sat down with Sydney Harris, who is a senior research specialist here at Vanderbloemen and is also known as our “Culture Queen.” She collaborates with others on the Vanderbloemen culture team to infuse Vanderbloemen’s staff values into everything we do as a team.

Here are nine virtual activities you can try with your team to build morale remotely:

1. Never Have I Ever

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●      Rules: Someone asks a question and the people who have done the activity mentioned, raise their hand and then share about their adventures.

●      Ask fun questions like, “Never have I ever gone skiing” or “Never have I ever visited Europe.”

●      Have one or two people who raised their hand share their experiences.

Tip: Ask questions that help you get to know each other’s fun experiences that you may not have otherwise heard about.

2. Two Truths & A Lie

●      Rules: Each person shares three statements about themselves. Two must be true, and one must be a lie. The goal is for the team to determine which statement is false.

3. “Quiplash” from JackBox TV

●      Rules: Each team member answers simple, witty prompts within a short time limit on their own device and votes for their favorite answer.

Tip: Create your own questions and phrases that are tailored to the inside jokes or funny memories with your team members. You can purchase Quiplash for $5 for Mac or PC, download here.

4. Brain Teasers Using Zoom Breakouts

●      Rules: Have team members log in to Zoomand assign them a breakout room. Then, have them work together to complete the brain teasers and riddles with their assigned team. After a designated amount of time, everyone comes back together to share the answers and responses with everyone.

5. BINGO

●      Rules: Search for “bingo card generator” on Google and choose a site to generate a randomized card for your team.

●      You can also create your own card that’s directly related to your organization to make it more fun and personalized. Email the cards to everyone to mark virtually.

Tip: Explore the many free and fun BINGO options available to you on Google.

6. Charades

●      Rules: Split your team evenly and mute half of the team while the other team is guessing.

7. Virtual Trivia

●      Rules: Incorporate company facts that your team members can use throughout the trivia game.

●      You can be as creative as you’d like and also incorporate challenging trivia questions for your team.

8. CodeNames

●      Rules: One player from each team connects as many words assigned to their team’s board that is made up of random vocabulary. This challenges the players to connect words that have nothing to do with each other.

Tip: Search for “codenames online” on Google to create a room for your team and generate a board that you can share on your screen via Zoom.

9. Pictionary

●      Rules: Take turns drawing out a picture and show it to the team so the others can share their guesses.

While remote activities aren’t as seamless as in-person connection, they can still be a lot of fun and a great way to stay connected.